Paraneoplastic manifestations of cancer in horses

Abstract

SummaryParaneoplastic manifestations of cancer, probably under-recognised in equine clinical practice, are often observed before the underlying primary disease is identified. This review provides a summary of paraneoplastic phenomena that have been reported in horses. The inclusion of paraneoplastic explanations in the differential diagnosis of common and challenging clinical problems should lead to earlier diagnosis and greater chance for successful therapeutic outcomes. In some cases, alterations in the clinical severity of paraneoplastic signs can be used as indicators of disease progression or response to treatment.

Current best practice in clinical management of equine endocrine patients

“…There appears to be a genetic basis to ID, with certain breeds of horse, including ponies, Morgan horses and Arabians being overrepresented. Other endocrine disorders of horses include hyperparathyroidism, as discussed by Axiak and Johnson () in their article focused on paraneoplastic syndromes, and diabetes mellitus (Durham et al . ; Dunkel et al .…”

“…There appears to be a genetic basis to ID, with certain breeds of horse, including ponies, Morgan horses and Arabians being overrepresented. Other endocrine disorders of horses include hyperparathyroidism, as discussed by Axiak and Johnson (2012) in their article focused on paraneoplastic syndromes, and diabetes mellitus (Durham et al 2009;Dunkel et al 2013). In contrast, some of the common endocrinopathies of human patients, dogs and cats such as Addison's disease, hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, are rarely seen in horses.…”

Advanced multicentric lymphoma in a Belgian Draft Horse mare

“…This might have caused the inflammatory changes in the mucous membranes and the ptyalism in the present case. The mare in this case showed signs of cancer cachexia, which is one of the most frequently reported paraneoplastic syndromes in human medicine and is indicative of a poor prognosis (Axiak andJohnson 2011, Muñoz et al 2009). The anorexia and severe weight loss could be attributed to an increased resting energy use together with cancer associated inflammation.…”

“…The clinical signs are often nonspecific and depend upon the type of tumour and the affected organ(s) (Janvier et al 2016, Ness 2016. Paraneoplastic syndromes are often the earliest detectable evidence of lymphoma and may include generalised pruritus, undulant pyrexia, cachexia, hypercalcemia and erythrocytosis (Axiak andJohnson 2011, Taintor andSchleis 2011). The total white blood cell count (WBC) is seldom diagnostically helpful since most cases of equine lymphoma are non-leukaemic (Ness 2016).…”

EVE and EVJ online collection of equine endocrinology: Recent and future directions; a great start but still a long way to go

“…Equine endocrinology is a fast‐moving field; in an introductory editorial, Philip Johnson, writing with Professor Sojka‐Kritchevsky, reflects on the pace of progress that has generated a vast number of publications in the last decade (Sojka‐Kritchevsky and Johnson ). The online collection encompasses a comprehensive range of topics within the field of endocrinology and includes authoritative review articles on insulin dysregulation (Frank and Tadros ), glucocorticoids and laminitis (Cornelisse and Robinson ) and paraneoplastic syndromes (Axiak and Johnson ).…”